The US Gold Card program moved from political headline to practical implementation in November 2025, as the government pushed draft forms and processes through federal review ahead of the December deadline set by the White House.
A draft USCIS Form I-140G has been sent through OMB’s emergency review process, a necessary step before the form can go live. Commerce has been tasked with designing the mechanics for accepting and handling the seven-figure gifts, but the detailed procedures have not yet been published.
The program is still not open, but these November steps confirm that agencies are working at pace to turn the President’s September order into a functioning route for investors and corporates who are prepared to make the required payment.
What is the US Gold Card?
President Trump’s Gold Card program is designed as a fast-track route to US permanent residence for people who are prepared to make a very large payment directly to the US government. The program is not a new visa category written into the Immigration and Nationality Act. Instead, it relies on an executive order from September 2025 that instructs the Department of Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to create a framework where an “unrestricted gift” to the US government can be used to support an immigrant petition.
In broad terms, an individual donor is expected to give at least $1 million. Where a company sponsors a foreign national, the gift level is $2 million. The payment goes to the Department of Commerce and on into a designated Treasury account. In immigration terms, the government’s position is that the gift, together with other evidence, can be used to qualify the foreign national under existing EB-1 extraordinary ability rules or EB-2 exceptional ability / national interest waiver rules. The Gold Card label is therefore political branding on top of existing employment-based immigrant categories rather than a self-contained statutory investor route.
Alongside the core program, the administration has promoted related ideas such as “Corporate Gold Card” and “Platinum Card”. Corporate Gold Card is aimed at employers ready to donate on behalf of key staff. Platinum Card is presented as a higher donation level with a very favorable US tax outcome. Those spin-offs are still at the level of messaging rather than settled immigration and tax law.
Latest Developments
The executive order gave the agencies ninety days from signature to implement the Gold Card program and to set out when gifts can start to be submitted. The working political deadline is 18 December 2025. In immigration terms, the key development since then has been the appearance of draft forms and supporting material at federal review level.
USCIS has prepared a new immigrant petition, Form I-140G, which is intended to be the vehicle for Gold Card cases. That form and its draft instructions have gone through the Office of Management and Budget’s emergency review process, which is a necessary procedural step before USCIS can put the form into use. In parallel, the State Department has produced a draft consular form, DS-260G, to be used for Gold Card immigrant visa applications at US consulates. DS-260G is expected to mirror the standard DS-260 immigrant visa application but will be coded to identify Gold Card cases.
The draft materials point to a non-refundable processing fee of $15,000 per applicant, paid through the federal pay.gov system. That fee sits alongside, and is entirely separate from, the seven-figure gift itself. The government’s working assumption is that the Gold Card route will draw immigrant visa numbers from existing EB-1 and EB-2 quotas, so any meaningful volume of Gold Card usage will have displacement effects for other employment-based applicants.
How the US Gold Card is expected to operate
Even though the process has not been finalized, the intended sequence is reasonably clear from the executive order and the draft instructions that are now in circulation.
First, the donor or sponsoring company is expected to file a Gold Card application with the Department of Commerce and commit to the required unrestricted gift. Commerce will be responsible for receiving the funds, placing them into the designated Treasury account and liaising with USCIS and State. Details such as whether funds move into full government control before or after immigration decisions, and whether any refund is possible if a case fails, are not yet published.
Second, after paying the $15,000 processing fee, the foreign national or sponsoring employer files Form I-140G with USCIS. USCIS will then carry out the immigration decision-making. That will include confirming that the gift meets the relevant thresholds, carrying out source-of-funds checks, running security and background screening, and deciding whether the package of evidence is enough for an EB-1 or EB-2 national interest waiver approval. The gift is presented as a key part of that case but does not remove the need for admissibility and background checks.
Third, once USCIS approves the I-140G and a visa number is available, the case is passed to the State Department. The applicant and any qualifying dependents then apply for immigrant visas through consular processing, using Form DS-260G, and, if successful, are admitted to the United States as lawful permanent residents. Adjustment of status from within the United States is not yet clearly set out in the draft instructions, although most practitioners expect that an in-country path will eventually be offered.
The important operational point is that the Gold Card does not create extra visa numbers. It competes for the same EB-1 and EB-2 immigrant visas that are used by scientists, executives, researchers and professionals who qualify under the existing rules. Investors who are focused on backlogs and priority dates need to factor that into their analysis.
Current Gold Card Program status
For investors and high net worth individuals, the key message right now is that the Gold Card program is not yet open, even though the marketing narrative and the political timetable suggest urgency.
The executive order is in force. USCIS has done the work needed to bring Form I-140G through federal review, and the State Department is part-way through the same process for DS-260G. However, neither agency has released final, operational forms or public guidance that would allow a donor to move money, file a petition and receive a receipt notice under a published rule set. The Department of Commerce has not yet issued detailed instructions on how gifts will be made, held or recorded, and has not published a formal “open for business” date.
The official promotional website exists and is being used to capture interest and build a waitlist, but it is not a live application platform. Some media coverage already refers to Gold Card as launched. In legal and practical terms, that is premature. The program is in a late implementation phase, but real investors do not yet have a reliable, transparent way to participate.
Next steps
Several developments will determine whether the Gold Card becomes a usable option or remains more of a political gesture.
Commerce needs to publish its procedures for accepting gifts, including how and when funds move from donors into government control, how source-of-funds checks will operate on the Commerce side and what happens if a case fails at the immigration stage. USCIS and the State Department need to release final versions of I-140G and DS-260G with detailed instructions. Only then will it be possible to see the evidentiary burden, the due diligence questions and any internal processing standards.
Investors also need clarity on how dependents are treated. Early commentary suggests that gifts may be calculated per person, not simply per family, which has a dramatic impact on the real cost of migration for families with children. More detail is also needed on whether a company that donates on behalf of an employee can transfer that “slot” to someone else at a later stage.
Beyond implementation mechanics, there is a layer of legal risk. Gold Card is a creature of executive action, not of statute. A future administration could suspend, reshape or cancel the program with a new executive order. In addition, there is a realistic prospect of litigation on questions such as whether a pure donation can be used to qualify someone for EB-1 or NIW, how this program interacts with the statutory EB-5 investor route and whether any related tax promises for Platinum Card-type offerings would be lawful without new legislation.
NNU Perspective
For investors, the Gold Card is not just another wealthy migrant program. It is a straight trade between a very large, non-refundable payment and a green card, routed through EB-1 and EB-2. Unlike EB-5, there is no asset, no project, no job-creation obligation and no realistic possibility of recovering the funds. For families who value capital preservation, that is a fundamental difference.
The second point is tax. A standard Gold Card outcome is a standard green card. That pulls worldwide income into the US tax net and brings FATCA, foreign bank reporting and possible exit tax into play. Any suggestion that a Platinum-style product will allow near year-round US living without US tax on overseas income depends on Congress changing the tax code. Investors who plan on the basis that such a deal already exists are exposing themselves.
Third, there is the question of durability. EB-5 is not perfect, but it is in the statute and has survived multiple regulatory and judicial cycles. Gold Card depends entirely on policy choices of the current administration and on how the courts react. That does not mean the program has no value, but it does mean that investors should treat it as a high-risk, high-cost option until it has bedded in and survived a change of administration and some judicial scrutiny.
In practical terms then, applications for the Gold Card might result from only a narrow group. Ultra-high net worth individuals who already want a US green card, who are comfortable writing off seven figures and who care most about speed and process simplicity, may view the trade-off as acceptable. Some corporates may decide that donating for a small number of key executives makes sense as a strategic spend.
Families, founders and portfolio investors who are sensitive to capital loss, tax exposure and rule-change risk may still better served looking at EB-5, E-2, multinational manager routes or non-US residence and citizenship-by-investment programs where the investment can be managed rather than given away. Taking advice on your specific circumstances is highly recommended to ensure you select and commit to the best route for you and your needs.
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Speak to our US attorneys for advice and to determine whether the Gold Card program aligns with your personal circumstances and long-term goals.
Author
Founder & Principal Attorney Nita Nicole Upadhye is a recognized leader in the field of US business immigration law, (The Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, Who's Who Legal and AILA) and an experienced and trusted advisor to large multinational corporates through to SMEs. She provides strategic immigration advice and specialist application support to corporations and professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, artists, actors and athletes from across the globe to meet their US-bound talent mobility needs.
Nita is an active public speaker, thought leader, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals.